


Jason Brown-Weisenbachfeld and the Sickness at School

by SheWantsItAll



Series: First Grade Jason [3]
Category: Falsettos - Lapine/Finn
Genre: F/M, Good Parent Marvin (Falsettos), Good Parent Mendel, Good Parent Whizzer Brown, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Mendel Weisenbachfeld Tries, Sickfic, he's trying, jason is precious, rated for one word
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-27
Updated: 2020-11-27
Packaged: 2021-03-09 21:27:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,460
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27733012
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SheWantsItAll/pseuds/SheWantsItAll
Summary: Jason ends up at school with a fever, and Mendel is the only person available to pick him up.
Relationships: Trina/Mendel Weisenbachfeld, Whizzer Brown/Marvin
Series: First Grade Jason [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1995193
Comments: 16
Kudos: 54





	Jason Brown-Weisenbachfeld and the Sickness at School

Jason was ready to go home. He felt horrible. He was cold and hot and his throat hurt and his little body ached like he had been hit with a car. He had felt fine when he got to school that morning, but five hours later he felt absolutely awful.

He propped himself up on one elbow, leaning onto his desk. He was trying really hard to pay attention to what Mr. McKinley was talking about. He was telling them about their field trip later that month- apparently they would be going to go to the aquarium. Jason would usually be super excited, but he felt so badly that he could hardly keep his eyes open.

Mr. McKinley just kept talking, answering his classmate’s questions about their upcoming trip and eventually Jason gave in and laid his head down on his desk. He felt someone, probably Nelly, tap him on the arm and whisper ask if he was okay- definitely Nelly. He shook his head and tucked his face deeper into his arms, sniffling to keep his nose from running.

He wished Mr. McKinley would just stop talking so that he could tell him he felt icky and ask to go home. He couldn't focus on the aquarium talk anyway- all he could think of was how bad he felt, and that he wasn't sure who would be able to come get him. It was a Friday, but Daddy was out of town for work and Papa was taking wedding pictures and wouldn't be home until late that night. The plan was that Pop would come get him after school and they would go to a movie and hang out until Papa was done, because Momma was visiting his grandma in Pennsylvania. But Pop didn't ever take care of him when he was sick.

Mr. McKinley had noticed that Jason seemed off. He knew that he probably should have checked in sooner, but his classroom had been a mad house all day between students coming in and out for placement screenings and the fire drill right after lunch. That wasn't a good excuse, though. He needed to manage everything better. He was in charge here. 

"Jason? Are you feeling alright?" He asked quietly, crouching down next to his desk. 

Jason lifted his head and looked at his teacher- the kid looked like he was sick. Mr. McKinley could see it in his eyes. 

"Oh kiddo," He felt his forehead with his hand. He felt warm? But he's alive. Everyone should feel warm. He saw his fellow teachers use this approach often but he, apparently, hadn't mastered the skill yet. He glanced at the clock. It was only two hours before they would go home. The nurse had already left. "Uhm… let's go check your temperature." 

Jason followed Mr. McKinley behind his desk and had his temperature checked. He watched as his teacher's expression changed, seeming slightly alarmed. 

"You've got a fever.. why didn't you tell me you were feeling bad, buddy?" 

Jason shrugged, shifting awkwardly on his feet. Now that he was vertical he felt worse. 

"It's alright… just let me know next time, okay?" He felt horrible. He would do anything for any of his students. He felt stupid for having missed something so obvious. He quickly filled out a nurse's office pass. "grab your backpack.. Nelly can walk you up there and I'll call your grownups."

~~~

After getting a call from Jason's teacher that he was sick, Mendel was... flapped, to say the least. He loved Jason- of course he did. The kid was precious, and it would be impossible not to love him. He just... made him feel insecure. 

Mendel had no experience with kids before Jason came into his life, and he hadn't been in the picture as long as Whizzer had. Jason could hardly remember a time before Whizzer. Mendel was just the awkward, late to the party, third dad. 

When he called Trina, she had assured him that he would be fine- that all he had to do was get Jason, take him home, spend some time with him, and put him in bed. He could do that. He had done that before. He had just never done it when Jason was sick and needed to be comforted and probably wanted literally anyone else to take care of him. 

The school nurse had already gone home for the day, so Jason sat on the weird plastic-y couch in her office, waiting for someone to show up to get him. He felt so bad. He had been waiting for ages. What if none of them were coming?? Everyone was busy… what if he wasn't important enough? What if no one came for him? He wanted to go home more than he had ever wanted anything. Who was going to take him home???

The only thing to do was look at the clock. The ticking was unreasonably loud in the quiet room and he wished it would just stop. He had been waiting there for hours. Had they forgotten him? 

He fiddled with the tiny stuffed frog keychain on his backpack and tried to hold it together, but with little success. Every minute that passed felt like forever. He sniffled for the seven hundredth time that day and when he looked out the window to see it was still only occupied by the scary school secretary his heart sank.

Jason slid down on the couch and stared at the ceiling. He tried to focus on the bear breaths they sometimes did in his classroom. Deep breath in, two three… deep breath out, two three… deep breath in, two three… deep breath out, two three. It wasn't working. Everything hurt. The clock sounds were overwhelming. He wished he was still in his classroom. If he was there Nelly would be there and Mr. McKinley would be there and he wouldn't be so alone. If he was in his classroom someone would do something to make him feel better. 

He scrunched himself up, pressing the side of his face against the cool, plastic-y couch. He he was so cold, but his face felt so hot. He huddled under his jacket and stared at the clock, willing time to go faster until someone showed up to get him. 

His eyes burned and he belatedly realized he was crying. He pulled his knees up and let himself. It felt like he had been waiting for hours. He felt so bad. He was getting ready to give up completely when he saw Pop come rushing in. Relief flooded through his veins. He wasn't going to be alone anymore. 

~~~

Mendel knew he was failing epically. He couldn't get Jason to stop crying. He wasn't cut out for this. He was barely cut out to parent healthy, happy Jason. Sick, scared Jason was more Trina/Marvin/Whizzer territory.

He tried to comfort him when he got him from school, with limited success. He had soothed him enough to put him down in the car seat, but halfway back to their townhouse he was at it again and he wasn't sure what to do. When they got home, he had given him a quick hug and sent him off to change. 

He started working on making up their couch into a cozy little bed for Jason. He had pillows and blankets and Mr. Stuffy and hopefully everything he needed. He had made hot chocolate and grabbed the tissues and cough drops. 

In a moment of severe self doubt he dialed Marvin's phone number and cradled the phone between his ear and shoulder as he continued to work.

"Marvin I can't get him to stop crying" he said as soon as Marvin picked up, in place of a proper greeting. "I sent him to put on PJs and I'm fixing the couch because he wanted to watch a movie but he's still crying a little and idunno what to do" he spoke rapidly. He was past wanting to seem like he could handle it. He knew he couldn't.

"Mendel. Mendel stop- if I didn't think you could handle this I would be on my way home right now."

"Really??" 

"Yes, really. You know he loves you, right? Like he loves Whizzer, hell, like he loves me."

"No he doe- no. No."

"Yes. Yes he does. Now, breathe"

Mendel took a deep breath.

"You might not be able to completely stop him from crying. He's a weepy little sick person. He always has been- that’s not your fault."

"Okay but I have to be able to do something because I can't stand this"

"See. And that's how I know you're going to take care of him. You just have to make sure he knows it too. You need to hold him and squeeze him a little. The pressure is going to help. I know you know that."

Mendel nodded, even though no one could see him. 

"The weighted blanket might help too. Sometimes being held is too much when he's sick."

"I can do that"

"Also.. there should be children's tylenol in your medicine cabinet. It was on the top shelf on the left four years ago. Might have moved by now"

"Okay. Top shelf. On the left."

"It'll help with the fever and then he won't feel so yucky. Oh. Also. You're going to have to sing."

"Marvin."

"Do it for the kid, Mendel. It helps. It's like magic. Any song you want. If he isn't out by the end of the movie, or if he's still really upset by the time he comes back, just hold him and squeeze him a little, pet his hair, and sing."

"Squeeze, pet, sing. Got it." 

"Oh and keep me updated? I know you can handle it but I really, really hate not being there. Maybe later after he's feeling a little bit better you could let him call me?" 

Ah yes- there's the Marvin he's familiar with.

"I can do that... Thanks.. oh wait there he comes" he said, and quickly hung up. 

Jason tugged on his favorite dinosaur PJs and shuffled out into the living room. He stumbled a little bit, leaning against the wall of the hall. He felt like he had spent the last ten minutes spinning in a desk chair, without any of the fun. 

"Hey buddy, I need you to come here and take these and then we can work on making you feel better," Pop said quietly, holding out four purple tablets.

Jason obediently took the Tylenol. He thought it was supposed to be grape flavored, but it was actually just gross.

They settled on the couch. Jason wrapped himself up in a blanket and Mendel started their movie. It was a sad substitute for the fun afternoon that they had planned to have. He felt icky. Sometimes words were hard for Jason, especially when he already didn't feel good. He reached out of his blanket cocoon towards Pop, hoping his need was obvious. He whimpered a little bit when he realized that Pop was checking his phone and instead shuffled closer before flopping over in his lap. 

"I'm sorry bub" he heard Pop say and then he felt arms wrap around him. He snuggled in closer on instinct. He felt so bad. Part of him wanted Daddy to come home. 

Daddy _always_ took care of him when he was sick. Always.

He felt his eyes start to water again, completely without his permission. He was just so miserable and nothing was helping and he wanted Daddy to come home and take care of him. He couldn't say that though. Because Pop was trying. Jason knew he was trying. And he couldn't tell him because it would make him sad. 

He clung to Pop tighter and let himself cry. He felt _so_ bad. 

"Hey.. shhhhhh... You're alright baby," Pop started to rock him gently. "What can I do?" 

He didn't know. Pop was supposed to know. He whined in frustration and hid his face. 

He felt himself being squeezed gently, "That better?" Pop asked. He sounded entirely unsure. 

He nodded into his shoulder, sniffling quietly. He felt fingers run through his hair and shivered a little bit. He wanted to watch a movie when they got home, but was realizing just how exhausted he felt. He could hardly keep his eyes open. He let them drift shut- the last thing he heard was Pop singing " _Fade in on a girl… with a hunger for fame… and a face and a name to remember.._."

Even after he was positive Jason was asleep, Mendel continued to hold him, stroking his hair gently and hoping he would feel better when he woke up. He sent Marvin a quick text, letting him know that Jason was resting and everything was okay. He also brainstormed better songs to sing for Jason. He knew plenty of songs, but nothing had come to mind when he was on the spot.

What he did not know when he sent the text, was that Marvin had already packed up his stuff, told his boss he was leaving, and was at the airport about to catch a flight home. Being so far away when Jason might need him was killing him a little bit.

Marvin sat in the boarding gate waiting area and called Whizzer to let him know that he was coming home and would take a cab from the airport. 

"You told Mendel you knew he could handle it," Whizzer's tone was jokingly accusatory

"That was true. I didn't lie. I just.. need to be home. What he doesn’t know won’t hurt him." He needed Jason to know that he would always be there for him when he was needed, and the best way to communicate that was to show him. 

"I know you do. I'm sure Jason will be glad to see you," his voice softened significantly, "I will be too."

"I missed you, too. I'll see you soon, yeah?"

"Of course. Love you. Be safe"

"I love you too." 

~~~

Mendel arrived at the Brown apartment soon after Whizzer arrived home from the wedding he had been shooting. It wasn't that he wanted to get rid of Jason, but he wanted to get him where he was supposed to be before he woke up. He knew that Whizzer would be a better caretaker for Sick Jason than he could ever dream of being. 

He managed to get him in his car seat, across town, and out again without waking him up. The kid slept hard.

He felt guilty for being so eager to drop him off. He was just worried. He just wanted Jason to be somewhere he would feel the best, and he had a feeling that of the available people, that would be with Whizzer rather than with him.

Whizzer let him in quickly after he rang the bell, and Mendel noticed a familiar brown suitcase and less than stylish green jacket dropped haphazardly at the bottom of the staircase. 

"He's here, isn't he?" he asked, very carefully transferring a sleeping Jason into Whizzer's arms. 

"Who's here? No one's here. It's just me. And you. And kiddo." Whizzer said quietly, holding Jason close. He had been so worried. He was also quite possibly the worst liar in the entire northern hemisphere. 

Mendel couldn't stop himself from rolling his eyes. "The taller one of those," he said, gesturing to Jason. 

Marvin poked his head in from the other room. "How did you know?"

"I've been inside your head, Marvin. I'm not stupid. Also you’re messy," he said, gesturing to his suitcase and jacket.

"I just.. I had to be here if he needed me.” He picked up the jacket and hung it on the coat tree, thankful to have something to do that gave him an excuse to avoid confrontation. “ It's not because of you. It's just.. I.. I needed to be here just in case." Marvin stammered out, already feeling more defensive than he needed to be. They all got along well, but it could be a delicate ecosystem at times and he didn’t want to be the reason things got complicated.

He had to be there, though. Being there if Jason was needed was more important to him than the risk of tense situations with his other parents. 

"Don't worry. I get it. You have to do what you think is best for him."

Marvin nodded, trying to let it go but still feeling slightly anxious over being found out and the possible consequences. He felt Whizzer's hand slip into his and heard him start talking, distracting both him and Mendel from his potentially problematic slip up. Maybe it would be okay. 

~~~

Jason woke up on the couch in Daddy and Papa's apartment. His nose was still running. Gross. He sniffled and looked around and could see them and Pop sitting in the kitchen with coffee cups. 

What day was it? Daddy wasn't supposed to be home until Sunday. He couldn't have slept that long, could he? He felt a lot better... Not 100% but much better than he had when Pop took him home. Maybe he had slept that long.

He rubbed his eyes, grabbed Mr. Stuffles and headed for the kitchen. He was less steady on his feet than usual. Definitely not 100% yet. 

He shuffled in and leaned against Papa, already feeling fatigued from his short journey. "What day is it?" He asked. Making a face at how his voice sounded. His throat hurt. 

He felt himself lifted off the ground and quickly turned his face into the shoulder of Papa's fancy wedding shirt.

"Still Friday, Bean." Whizzer kissed his forehead, thankfully noting the absence of a fever. "Pop took good care of you, didn't he?" He asked, not because there was any real question, but because he knew what a reluctant caretaker Mendel could be. 

Jason nodded before carefully sliding out of his arms and shuffling over to hug Pop. "Thank you for taking care of me.."

Mendel hugged him tightly. "Of course" he kissed the top of his head, "I love you so much bub"

"Love you too,"

Mendel's heart melted. He knew that the kid loved him. Of course he did. It was just... good to hear. 

Jason let himself be hugged. His legs felt all wobbly and he leaned against Pop to steady himself. 

_Wait a minute_.

He looked up and saw Daddy perched on one of their kitchen chairs next to Papa, watching him closely. His eyes widened. How had he forgotten between the couch and here? Everything felt fuzzy in his brain. 

"You came home," he croaked, stumbling in Daddy's direction. He tripped and would have hit the floor, but Daddy caught him and scooped him up. He sniffled, partially to keep his nose from running, but partially from the sudden influx of emotion.

"Of course I did," Marvin said quietly. He felt little fingers dig into the back of his jacket and mouthed his thanks to Mendel one last time before heading out of the room. 

"I thought you were gonna be gone until Sunday?" his voice was scratchy and he whined softly. 

"Shhhhhh baby. Don't hurt your voice," Marvin rocked him gently as he carried him into his and Whizzer's shared room. He wasn't sure if that was going to be their final reading place for the night but he wanted to get Jason somewhere quiet, and anywhere Mendel was around was not that place. "I wasn't supposed to be home until then, but you're so much more important than any meeting." 

He had gotten much better at being open and honest over the years, especially with Jason. He knew how important it was for him to know how much they all loved him and how important he was. Marvin was better at showing- coming home early from trips, being at every school and extracurricular function no matter how tedious, helping with school projects, but every parenting blog he secretly read on his phone after Whizzer was asleep, told him it was important for him to tell as well. So he was working on that. 

Jason's lips turned up into a small smile but he didn't lift his head. "I was so worried about you, kiddo." He heard Daddy say and he felt his eyes start to droop as he was swayed back and forth, fingers running through his hair. 

"M glad you're here... Pop tried but…" he trailed off, then jerked slightly, snapping awake "wasn't the same…"

"Shhhhhh… just rest kiddo. I'm not going anywhere," Marvin held him close, squeezing slightly, running the fingers of one hand through his hair, and singing Soft Kitty. Jason fell asleep feeling icky, but so, so loved. 

**Author's Note:**

> First grade Jason returns! My next plans for him contain more fluff and fewer feelings, so if that's more to your speed, please don't give up on me yet! (I think Mendel would love Smash.. thoughts?)
> 
> I hope you're all well in these crazy times. Stay safe, wear a mask, and wash your hands. 💖💖


End file.
